Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

February More Rail Ramblers followed with on the 7 th , to Nantwich, then to Windermere on the 21 st . March Durham was the destination of the Rail Rambler on March 7 th , and over Easter there was another going via the Settle & Carlisle line to end up in Whitehaven. Plans for further excursions to Aberystwyth and the Yorkshire Dales were being formulated, but BR was casting doubt over their continuation. ( It was rumoured that they had been unco-operative to say the least! ) On Saturday the 25 th , the first of a series of specially chartered trains by the St James’s Church in Blackburn operated to ‘mystery’ destinations. These turned out to be Canterbury and Dover, with the option of visiting both. The locos on the outward run were 47:608 to Preston and 86:141 south to Willesden Junction, where 33:033 took over for the journey south of the Thames. On its return to Willesden 85:023 was in charge of the train north to Preston where 47:559 named ‘ Sir Joshua Reynolds’ took over. April After several months of uncertainty, it was announced that the programme of Rail Ramblers’ excursions could continue. The Secretary of the Ramblers’ Association, Peter Walker, had been in long negotiations with BR on the future of these popular trips. However, the first one which was due to visit Aberystwyth on May 9 th , had needed to be changed. Much of the difficulties lay in the availability of suitable rolling stock, but now BR had given a guarantee that a 5-car unit would be allocated for the remainder of the season. This was great news for the people who travelled in numbers on them twice monthly, to destinations in order to join one of the organised rambles, or just to visit places of historical and social interest. May Councillors from East Lancashire congregated at Rishton Station to inspect first-hand the new platforms, which at last corresponded in height with the level of the diesel unit train doors. It had cost £12,000 to facilitate these improvements and amongst those accompanying BR’s Passenger Manager Frank Jones, were Councillors George Slynn and Stuart Mercer, both from Hyndburn. Under the heading ‘ QUICKER OFF THE MARK’, an advertisement appeared for BR’s new Sprinters. It stated, “ Our bright new Sprinters can outrun all their predecessors with faster amcicneul et er as t ioofnf , ytohuery j coaunr nreeya. c Th haa nt ko sp tsop et ehde oa if r 7c5omn pd hi t i omnoerde aqnudi c kf rl ye s ah n idn taerrei o ar sb, l ea nt od tsrmi mo ovt ahleura ba li er sf ruesqpueennsti osne ,r yv oi cue nt ho rt ooungl hy oaur tr i evve eirny swh eo er tkedra tyi, ms oe bi f uyt oi un wb eatnt et ra sfha as tpeer tgoeot . aTwhaeyy, awci lol mo pf oerrtaatbe l eo nj oau rvne er yy aLneeddasn earlier end, then hop on a Sprinter today. They will operate between Preston, Blackburn and ”. On Monday, the 25 th , there was a Rail Rambler to Malton and Scarborough with fares at £6:50p and £3:35p for a child. June Whereas up to this point the capacity on the Rambler trains had been 360 seats, BR had now decreed that the maximum number would be halved to 180. On Saturday, the 10 th , Evesham was the destination of a Rail Rambler for walks in the Cotswolds, and the fares were £7:50p with children half price. Later in the month there would be a Rambler to Alnmouth, via the West Coast mainline and Carlisle, for walks around Alnick and a visit to Bamburgh Castle. September The ‘Q Train’ was again operating along the East Lancs Line and this time it caught two more youths taking a short cut along the lines near Huncoat Station. On Saturday, the 9 th , the Rambler destinations were Grange-over-Sands and Ulverston, with the added attraction of a guided walk across Morecambe Bay and Leven Sands. Hyndburn Council were to keep up the pressure on BR to provide a second ramp at Church & Oswaldtwistle Station. Plans had already been confirmed for the construction of one ramp, and the Church Councillor, Bessie Sandiford, said they should keep on pressurising BR until something was done. October Plans were unveiled for the closing off to all but pedestrians the bridge over the railway on Arago Street. Protests from those seeking vehicular access to St Joseph’s RC Church meant LCC was postponing a final decision on this move. On Saturday, the 10 th , Hyndburn Conservative Association had organised an ‘executive’ trip over the Settle to Carlisle line. This departed Accrington at 09:30, picking up in Blackburn and Clitheroe. The fares were adults £9:50p and children £5:00, and tickets were available from Joyce, at the Conservative

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